a map of where i live by Jacquie Meng, 2024

Transcript

This work is a mural with a cartoon-like quality painted directly onto the gallery wall. Situated across two adjoining white walls in a corner of the gallery, the mural on the left-hand side is approximately 1.5 metres high by 3.5 metres wide and the mural on the right-hand side is approximately 1.4 metres high by 1.6 metres wide.  

Working from left to right, is a figure wearing the costume of a jester with a black pointed hat with white bow and a costume entirely white on the left side and black on the right side with a shiny, silk-like appearance. The fabric of the pant legs billows out and the shoes worn are black and pointy at the toes. The figure floats on their side with their legs kicked up, black plaits worn long, down either side of their face with a wide grin and painted rich red lips. Black lines of makeup work their way up and down from both eyes, similar to the makeup worn by court jesters. The arms of the figure are held out to the right-hand side with fingernails painted in a deep red colour.  

To the right of the figure is the image of a road painted like the figure, or number, '8' on its side. Dotted on the outside of the road are four trees each with unique canopies in the shapes of suits found in the deck of a set of playing cards, a heart, a club, a spade and a diamond. Five zebra crossings with their distinctive white painted lines upon dark grey road are included in the ‘figure 8’ two-lane roadway. There are five sedan cars in colours of pink, blue and orange, all with their headlights on. On the left-hand side within the middle of the figure 8-shaped road is a grassy green oval with striking markings. On the right-hand side within the middle of the figure 8-shaped road is a black and grey oval shaped painting of Sydney harbour bridge, Sydney Opera House and with the words ‘Sydney Water’ painted at the top.  

On the adjacent wall is a similarly stylised road but this time shaped as a five-pointed star with rounded and curved edges. At each point of the star is a house with a pointed roof with bricks painted orange, pink and light blue.   

Working in a clockwise direction– from the top, the first house contains a blue background with a white skull and crossbones. The second house contains two trees, one on each side, with the tree on the left being the spade playing card canopy and the one on the right is the diamond suit shape. The third house displays a close-up of the jester’s cream-coloured face. The fourth house holds a green peace sign logo on a black background and the final, fifth house also displays a close-up image of the jester’s face but with brighter pink skin tones displayed.  

There are five mosaics displayed between the murals on both walls, ranging in size from approximately 30cm by 30cm, with the smallest being 15cm in diameter. Materials include glass tiles, sculpting resin and Swarovski crystals.   

One of the mosaics is a clock displayed on a light blue background, with black horses beside it and red birds flying above. There is a green number 12 at the top of the clock and below there is an Ankh symbol, which is the Egyptian hieroglyphic representing the word for life, while another mosaic is a house with floral patterns. There is a bird in the top window and two other windows have paintings in them.  

Of this work, the artist, Jacquie Meng notes, ‘a map of where I live is an imagined map, reminiscent of childhood roadmap rugs. It reminisces on suburbia, blending playhouse and jester doll aesthetics. It presents the idea of suburbia and sense of place through the lens of play and the carnival; a festive second life that blends interior and exterior spaces. Meng considers her inner world and outer space in relation to place, identity and belonging.’  

Jacquie Meng works with painting, sound, and installation. Meng explores the ways that identity can be reflected beyond the body: it can be revealed through objects, patterns, chance encounters, idiosyncrasies, as well as through embedded cultural and social practices. She makes paintings of her surroundings through a speculative lens, collapsing time and space, changing the experience of observation into one of invention, referencing mythologies and personal truths and fictions. Through this, she highlights the uncanniness of the everyday and reflects on the strangeness of identity politics.  

For more information, visit Jacquie’s website: jacquiemeng.com.